Thursday, April 26, 2007

I have two gala benefits coming up in the next two weeks, and since both are for very worthy causes, I thought I should (belatedly) mention them in case anyone wants to attend either one.

The Cappella Clausura gala is happening this Sunday at 6:00 pm, and I will be singing a solo, as will some other members of the group. There will be wine, and dessert, and "musical enchantments" and it should be very lovely. It's being held in Taylor House in Jamaica Plain, and since Cappella was hosted there for a post-concert party once, I can tell you that the food they cook up there is amazing. Also, as galas go, it's quite reasonable, $45 for sponsor tickets and $75 for benefactor tickets. It's pretty late if you want to get tickets, and I should have mentioned it earlier, but I neglected to because...

I have been working my *** off for the Boston Cecilia gala, which will be a much more involved affair. Tickets start at $150 and go up from there. It will be held at the Harvard Club of Back Bay, musical guests are the GrooveBarbers (a group containing some of the founding members of Rockapella, including that guy with the blond braids on Carmen Sandiego) and there is both a silent auction and a live auction. When Cecilia members have mentioned the auction, they always mention the trips first (to Italy, South Africa, and various parts of New England) but I think they miss mentioning some of the most exciting things, such as:

a Chocolate Extravaganza gift basket! Why is this not the first thing everyone mentions?

a set of tickets to see a half dozen of the top choirs in Boston

a private voice lesson with a pair of opera singers (I'm drooling after this one, but probably can't afford to bid on it, although I threatened to Don, our musical director, that I might stand near it and make disparaging remarks to keep the price down, which of course is the opposite of the point of a gala auction)

and, OK, I confess the Tuscan villa looks pretty cool

At any rate, go check out the auction page, which I had to find all the pictures for. And consider coming! If all the other amusements fail, you can laugh at me hobbling around in strappy heels for an evening.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Hear ye, hear ye! A great concert is coming up, and I encourage you all to attend.

I'll be singing with Schola Cantorum this weekend. This particular concert will be 10 voices, 2 on a part, and the highlight of the program will be Britten's Hymn to St. Cecilia. Also, I will be singing soprano on about half the program, something that has not happened possibly ever, so I encourage you all to witness this once-in-a-lifetime event!

The details:

The concert I encourage you to attend if you are in the Boston area is this Friday night, April 13, at 8:00 pm. It will be at St. Peter's Church in Weston, MA, which may sound far away, but which is in actuality just off Rt. 128. Directions can be found here.

There are two other concerts, in Rhode Island. On Saturday, April 14th, we'll be at Saint Joseph's Church in Providence (Hope and Arnold Streets, East Side) at 8 pm, and on Sunday, we'll be somewhere even further south in RI, but I don't know where because they printed up the posters before we got that gig. So if you want to go to that one, comment and let me know and I'll get you the information!

Britten's Hymn to St. Cecilia, 2 voices to a part! It'll be fabulous. You know you want to come!

About Me

My name is Allegra Martin, and I am a Boston-area choral conductor and singer. My jobs include: music director of Cantilena, a women's chorale in Arlington; choral conductor at Lasell College and director of the Lasell Village Voices of Experience; and music director of First Parish Cohasset. I sing in the area with Anthology, Schola Cantorum, and anyone who will hire me! I also teach private lessons in sight-reading, theory, and conducting.